Washington, DC—It had the feel of a tournament game with all the emotion and intensity that was displayed.  There were four technical fouls called to go along with 12 ties and three lead changes, but in the end it was a Lawrence Cooks three pointer with 43 seconds remaining that proved to be the difference as Hampton edged Howard 68-65 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game before a overflow crowd at Burr.
 
The Bison (10-14, 4-5 in the MEAC), who were reeling from a disappointing double overtime loss to Norfolk State on Saturday, showed no signs early as they came out strong a took an 11-point lead midway through the first half.  James "J-Byrd" Daniel, III led the way with 12 points while Damon Collins chipped in with seven.
 
Then Howard got into foul trouble and the veteran Pirates (14-9, 9-2 in the MEAC) rallied behind Reginald Johnson, Jr. and Dionte Adams to get to within six at 43-37 at intermission.
 
"I thought that was one of the keys," said Howard coach Kevin Nickelberry.  "The emotion and the ebb and flow affected us and they were able to close the gap at the half.  We had a double digit lead but they made plays and it gave them life."
 
The two teams went back and forth in the second half.  At that one point during a six-minute stretch, there were six ties and three lead changes.
 
Johnson and Chievous, who are both seniors made sure that the game stayed close as they took turns scoring.  Boyd Daniel and Tyler contributed to the Bison cause.
 
With much of the attention focused on the Hampton duo, it left the door open for Cooks who scored all seven of his points in the last two minutes including the game winner from the right corner.
 
"In Johnson, Chievous and (Brian) Darden, you have veteran players who have been there before," explained Nickelberry.  "It wasn't so much that they were making shots. 
They created opportunities by getting rebounds.  Then the player (Cooks) made the play that mattered."
 
The Bison shot 23 of 63 from the field and failed to make a three pointer, going 0 for 13.  Daniel, the nation's leading scorer at 28 points per game, finished with 20 on 6 of 23 shooting and 0 for 10 from beyond the arc.
 
"We just couldn't make shots," said Nickelberry.  "We did a lot of good things tonight against one of the top teams in our league, but in the end you have to make shots.  That is something we can fix."
 
Daniel led the Bison with 20 points, three assists and two steals.  Boyd, who was in foul trouble early, recorded yet another double double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.
 
The Pirates were led by Johnson with 22 points and 9 rebounds, Chievous with 15 and 17 rebounds and Adams with 12, 10 coming in the first half.
 
GAME NOTES: Howard held an advantage statistically in points in the paint (38-34), in second chance points (17-14, in fast break points (16-6) and even its bench (11-9) in a rarity.  But Hampton held a 48-41 advantage on the boards, including 18 off the offensive glass.
 
NEXT UP: Howard travels to Baltimore, MD to take on the Eagles of Coppin State, Saturday at 4 pm as it tries to snap its four-game skid.